 | Ballied used a push bike. |
| Started playing at Hilday - Templetons flat at 16 just past the cemetery. |
| In 1946-47 Ballie played in a Premiership. They beat Penshurst at Melville Oval playing in the firsts for Coleraine. He then went rabbiting and didn't have time to train. |
| Was Best and Fairest and won the Premiership in 1955 in the 2nds age 35. Reg Schofield won the Best and Fairest in the Firsts. Watts umpired the Grand Final in Melbourne and then umpired Ballies game. It was played at Merino. He said to Ballie 'You're only wasting your time playing in this league.' |
| Ballie was a great mark taking 'speckies' over the pack. He was a reasonable kick. |
| Dad and Jack were great drop kicks over 60 yards. |
| Some of the bests footballers Ballie saw in Coleraine were: Liney Hutchins, Jimmy Millard, Bubba Ferguson, Piffi Fitzgerald who kicked 14 goals in a Grand Final. |
| 1948 Coleraine won the Firsts and Seconds Grand Final (Fields of Coleraine book) |
Ballie 1951 - right back row
It was a joy to be here. On a Sunday afternoon they’d be anything up to 20 kids here during the football season, kicking the football. We’d all come in afterwards and have a feed. Good God, they were in crook times. God, they used to flock here for some reason. We used to always have a football no matter how crook things were. We’d kick till it was like a basketball.
I played footy in Coleraine into my mid thirties and I won a best and fairest in the seconds. In those days there was only football and cricket. Your father and Jack, well Jack started off playing with Tahara and the only way he could get there was on a bike. You’d have to ride from here way down to the Tahara bridge. Templetons would pick him up then. I suppose your father walked down to Coleraine. They didn’t get a car till they were 21. They were playing cricket when they were 17 or 18.
John “Why did Jack play with Tahara”
Well, he was friends with the Templeton’s, with Neil, Stan and Clem. They started off with the Orientals and then when they progressed into a major league which took in Casterton, Caraput, Merino, Tahara and all those places. They upgraded their standards. They separated but when they got the car, they played with Tahara. Mum used to go out. But football was my love. I started off when I was very young with Hilgay. Our home ground was out there where Ness’s live now – Templeton’s owned it. There was a flat there. It was a pretty good oval.
John “Where the dairy farm is?”
Yes. We never ever won a Premiership but there were some damn good players. By hell, I’ll tell you what, I started off as a forward. I never learnt to kick with both feet. I was a left footer but of course, as I say, I went into the army when I was 20. That’s where I played my best football, especially when we went up to Sydney there, we played the Navy, the Air force and all the other ones. I’d open the ruck with Phonse Kyne . Phonse finished up captain of Collingwood and later coach with Collingwood (won a premiership in 1958). After the War, you couldn’t get football boots. I got my football boots made through the Collingwood Football Club. We had ‘Tubby’ Edmonds. Now ‘Tubby’ won a Grand Final for Collinwood there. I forget who was the main forward back in those days around in 32 or 33. Could have been Coventry I suppose. In their wisdom they put ‘Tubby’ down the forward pocket and he kicked 3 or 4 goals before they knew what was going on. I think they could have been the era when Collingwood won the 4 Premierships. There was Joe Toleman, Laurie Moran, Hovey from Geelong. It was real league football and of course and that’s when I was at my peek. It didn’t going around here for another 5 or 6 years. As far as being local competitive football, there was that gap, do you see, which made me about 26 before things got going here properly again. I was limited because I could never got down to training or anything because I was way out on the rabbits and the only time I saw a football would be Saturday afternoon. Coleraine always had a top class of player. The old Western Districts was one of the top leagues. By hell if you could get a game there you were pretty good. You were coming up against a lot of league players the likes of Fred Fanning, Stan Judkins and those fellas. They came up here as coaches or captain playing coaches like Laurie Nash and another one from St. Kilda. They were top players so you can just imagine the high standard of football back in those days. Jimmy Millard could have gone to Melbourne. There’s not a shadow of doubt that he had league qualities, recognized even now as one of the best players who ever played football. Of course he ran at Stawell. He had the pace, was a magnificent mark, magnificent kick and possessed terrific knowledge. You could say he was almost unbeatable. He still recalls the time he was playing in a Grand Final and their top forward was getting belted to buggery. So Jimmy said to the captain coach. “If you want to win this game, you got to shift Skofield”. I forget who was on him. He said “He’s absolutely killing him”. So anyhow, after half time they put Jimmy at full forward and I think he kicked 9 goals. So you can just see now what a terrific player he was. I loved football and I’ve always followed on and had a great liking for Collinwood. Shame to see them now but that happens to all sides. You have your highs and lows. We always liked sport. We liked the racing – always loved racing. Always liked my bets and I got on the Committee.
John “Did you get belted by an umbrella at the football by the mother of a fella who you ironed out”
Oh yes. In those days in the country grounds there were no boundary fences. If the ball went out of bounds, well you were mixed up with the crowd. We were playing over at Sandford and at Humphries place where I was out today to get those two little steers. That’s Ken’s mother and father’s place. They had about 5 sons playing for Sandford. Whatever I must have done. I must have dropped one of the sons or done some foul deed. And by hell when I got out there following the ball to the boundary because I was a ruckman in those days. This fellas mother ran out and the next thing I was 'donged' with this bloody great big umbrella.
I made a tremendous number of friends through the football – well sport really and I got a lot of enjoyment out of it.